SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
*To read one of our road tests, just select from the menu on the left.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.


Mercedes-Benz SA announced new petrol engines for its 2012 B-class cars recently. We took notes

This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a prepared course chosen to make the product look good and that experience was basically the same as we found on the launch of the diesel models in March 2012. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. That very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get an actual test unit for trial. Thank you for your patience.


Pics supplied

Wringing kilometres from litres

Mercedes-Benz’ A and B-series cars are popular, having sold over 2,8 million units since they were introduced in 1997. New B-class cars, designed and equipped to attract additional, younger buyers, were introduced here toward the end of March 2012. Only diesel engines were offered. Selvin Govender, Mercedes-Benz Cars’ Divisional Manager of Marketing, announced proudly that this first shipment sold out in six weeks. Now it’s time to introduce the updated petrol versions.

Although the 1600cc turbocharged engine, offered in two states of tune, is essentially new, journalists with long memories challenged the Mercedes team’s contention that it is “all-new.”

“You tried this before,” they complained, “and you went running back to the original engines. Who are you trying to kid?” Journalists can be blunt, but it’s all part of their quest to bring you accurate information with as little “spin” as possible. The straight answer is that, in every manufacturer’s bid to maintain decent performance yet wring every kilometre possible from your litre of fuel, engines will be downsized. Mercedes-Benz’s earlier attempt with 1600cc power plants was not a resounding success because suitable technology simply wasn’t available.

It is now, with fast-acting piezo units providing direct injection up to five times per power stroke, CVVT on both inlet and exhaust valves, multi-spark ignition, a controlled oil pump and switchable water pump, a 10.3:1 compression ratio, improved exhaust gas scavenging for faster turbocharger response and a start-stop system. The 1595cc engine develops 90 kW and 200 Nm in B180 tune or 115 kW and 250 Nm in B200 guise, bettering the outputs of the old motors. Combined cycle fuel consumption for both manual cars is given as 5,9 l/100 km. The engine was designed for both transverse and front-to-rear applications, so it will be seen in future C-class models as well.

Front suspension is courtesy of McPherson struts with wishbones, coil springs with gas-filled dampers and stabiliser bars. At the back, one finds a four-link system with coil springs, gas dampers and stabilisers. Braking is provided by ventilated discs in front with solid units at the rear, an electrically-powered parking brake, ABS, BAS and ESP. Standard transmission is six-speed manual with 7G-DCT (twin clutch) automatic as an option.

Standard equipment includes rain-sensing wipers, cruise control, “Audio 20” radio with six-CD changer, media interface, filtered air conditioning, powered windows and mirrors, eco stop-start and front fog lamps. Personalisation packages and an extensive range of options are available.

The numbers
Prices: R299 600 for B180 and R319 600 for B200
Power: 90 kW at 5000 rpm (B180) – 115 kW at 5300 rpm (B200)
Torque: 200 Nm (B180) – 250 Nm (B200), both between 1250 and 4000 rpm
Performance:
B180 – 10,4 seconds to 100 km/h and 190 km/h maximum.
B200 – 8,6 seconds to 100 km/h and 220 km/h maximum
Economy: 5,9 and 6,2 l/100 km; manual and automatic, for both models
Tank: 50 litres
Boot: 488 litres by VDA method
Warranty/Maintenance: 6 years/120 000 km MobiloDrive 120 plan

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

My articles appear every Wednesday in the motoring pages of The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles most months of the year (press cars are withdrawn over the festive season - wonder why?) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police. Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so I do actually exist.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax.
So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously.